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EU draft Regulation sets tighter BPA limit in FCMs
April 7, 2016
EU draft Regulation sets tighter BPA limit in FCMs
7 April 2016
by Leigh Stringer
The European Commission has issued a draft Regulation that would see tighter limits set for bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic food contact materials (FCMs).
If adopted, it would apply a "migration limit" of 0.05mg of BPA per kg of food (mg/kg) to plastic materials and articles and varnishes and coatings found in canned foods. This is the maximum permitted amount of a given substance released from a material or article into food. The current limit is set at 0.6 mg of BPA per kg of food (mg/kg).
According to the Commission, small quantities of BPA can migrate into food from the material or article that it is in contact with. This can result in "some exposure".
The draft says that the new limit is to "fully ensure that exposure to BPA remains below the [Tolerable Daily Intake] and does not endanger human health".
The European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) currently sets the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of BPA at four micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight per day (μg/kg bw/day).
However, it designated the TDI as temporary (t-TDI) pending the outcome of a long-term toxicity study on BPA in rodents. This is being undertaken by the US National Toxicology Program and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Read more at ChemicalWatch.
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